Cotton handling apparatus



A ril 23 1935. T, s. GRIMES 1,998,868

COTTON HANDLING APPARATUS Filed May 22, 1929 5 SheetsS'ne et 1 T. S.GRIMES A ril 23, 1935.

COTTON HANDLING A PPARATUS Filed May 22, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 23,1935. T. s. GRIMES COTTON HANDLING APPARATUS Filed May' 22, 1929 5Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 23, 1935 :1

UNITED STATES COTTON HANDLING APPARATUS Thaddeus S. Grimes, Columbus,Ga., assignor to The Lummus Cotton Gin Company, Columbus, Ga, acorporation of Georgia Application May 2 2 1929, Serial No. 365,194.

s'claims. (Cl.19-37)" My invention relates to cotton handling apparatusand particularly to ahull separator and cleaner for the treatment ofdirty bolly cotton preparatory to the introduction thereof into the 5gin,although the invention in its broadest aspects' is not limited tothe specific dual functions stated. r n

By way of introduction, it may be stated that a certain amount ofcleaning of the cotton ahead of the hull separation is desirable.However, such cleaning treatment should be just sufficient to take outthe bulk of loose dirt and leaf trash, as too much cleaning at thisstage encourages the hazard of shale from the burr in the lint. However,after the hull has beenremoved the cleaning is greatly simplified and avigorous treatment of the cotton over ample cleaning surface is verydesirable. v

It is, therefore, the primary object of my invention to provide acombined hull separator and cotton cleaner, which canbe readilyinstalled arate the hulls from the seed cottonand then subject thelatter to a thorough cleaning treat.- ment.

Another object of the invention is to provide;

a hull separator and cleaner wherein the seed 1 cotton is delivered fromthe separator to the cleaner in a thin bat whereby the cleaning processmay be carried out very much moreefficiently than in prior apparatuswherein the hulled seed cotton is delivered in a heavy irregular mass orwad to the cleaning apparatus from a conveyor or the like, --instead offrom the hull separator direct, as herein. a

Another object of the invention residesin the provision of novel bypassvalve means associated with the'inlet of the machine and whereby thecotton may be directed thereinto or passed directly to the gins-by way,for instance,-of the belt or other distributor for feeding the seedcotton to the gins. V

A further object of the invention resides in the privision of novelandimproved means formaintaining a very efiicient separation of hullsand trash from the cotton upon the introduction of the latter into themachine; and for positively subjecting the hulls to a maximum oflintreinoving action for a comparatively long period of time to assurethe removal of all lint from the hulls before the same are discharged. 7

The invention further contemplatesthe com .bination with ahullstripperroll incorporated in the machine, of a novel peripherialsurface for:- mation thereof which effectivelyprevents passage of thehulls beyond said stripper roll, but at the same time avoiding thestripping back of the seed cotton.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of acombined hulling and clean---' ing machine, as characterized, whereinthe hulldischarge spout or passageway .is'located in the path of theseed cotton as it approaches its outlet and wherein moving elements ofthe seed cotton cleaning apparatus have means for removing the seedcotton from the line of said trash discharge spout while conveying suchseed cotton toward its outlet. V 'The invention also resides in certainnovel features of construction, combination and 'arrangen'ient of thevarious parts and in certain modes and methods of operation,all ofwhich'will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in theart upon reference to the following detailed descriptive matter inconnection with the accompanying drawings disclosing what now appears tobe a preferred embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood,however, that the invention is capable of other mechanical expressionswithin the spirit and scope of the subject matter claimed hereinafter.

In the drawings,

Figure I is a perspective view illustrating the front portion of acotton handling machine incorporating myinvention; v

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view thereof Figure 3 is a centralcross-sectional view through the machine;

Figure 4 is a View in front elevation of the machine with. certain partsremoved and other of the stripper roll saw cylinder and brushroll,. thesame being shown in fragmentary form with the saw cylinder and brushroll in cross section and the stripper roll in elevation, and

Figure 7 is a group view illustrating medial fragmentary portions ofcertain "of the cleaning rolls.

Referring specifically to the drawings wherein.

the same reference characters have been used to designate the samepartsin all views, the machine comprehends a frame including spacedlongitudinal sill members A, A, which are adapted to be supported, ifdesired, by a floor joist B. It is to be understood that in the usualinstallation the hull separator and cleaner, which is the subject ofthis specification, will be located considerably above the level of thegins and ordinarily in the upper or second floor of the gin house,

Connecting the sills A, A, at each end and extending laterally beyondthe same are the beams or cross members C from which rise the cornerposts D, which are tied together at their upper ends by cross members Eand longitudinal members G and K. The longitudinal frame member G is atthe rear of the machine and between the same and the base member C aretwo other longitudinal frame members H, J, which are secured at theirends to the corner posts D, as best shown in Figure 3. 7

At the front of the machine there are provided,

in addition to the upper longitudinal beam or frame member K, thelongitudinal frame members or beams L, L and M, the latter of whichrests, as shown, upon the base or sill member A.

Figure 3 also shows that there is an intermediate longitudinal framebeam or member N extending between the upper cross pieces or beamsE,this member N serving to support the inner portion of the removabletop closures O, which extend the, full length of the machine. Removablepanels, such as P, may be employed for sealing the rear side of themachine or casing.

Suitably secured beneath the sill members A, A is a frame which extendsthe full length of the machine, such frame comprising longitudinalmembers Q connected at their ends by cross members R. This framesupports the elongated hopper-like bottom S to the lower end of'which issecured the trough T carrying the rotary screw conveyor U,it beingobserved that the trough T is preferably reinforced at its ends byvertical brace members V, which are suitably secured to the lower crossmembers C of the main frame or to the cross members Q of the sub-frame.

Suitable posts F carried by one or the other or both of the main framecross members D, E, serve to carry suitable bearings for the projectingends of the shafts of the rotary elements which will be referred tohereinafter.

At the rear of the machine above the longitudinal frame member H andheld inwardly by the bracket W is the panel W'whose upper end is carriedby the upper, rear longitudinal frame member G, as shown in Figure 3.

At the front of the frame and terminating short of the ends thereof isthe enclosure Y, which is open at its top and bottom so as to permit thecotton to be discharged thereinto from the feeder or other conveyor Iwhen the by-pass valve 3 is in the dotted line position of Figure 3 toclose the inlet opening 2 at the front of the frame. When the by-passvalve or plate 3 is in the dotted line position the cotton will bedischarged directly onto the gin feeding belt or conveyor, the topflight of which works in the trough or guideway Z, as shown. Of course,normally the cotton would be fed into the separator and cleaner throughthe inlet opening 2, but in the case of very clean non-bolly cottonsatisfactory results could be obtained by feeding the same directly tothe gins, thus by-passing the hull separator and cleaner.

The cotton passing into the machine sliding upon the bypass valve orplate 3, passes on to the adjustable slide plate 6, which is preferablypivoted as at 4 to the plate 5 which also pivotally carries the bypassvalve or plate 3. Adjustment of the plate 6 is had by means of theadjusting device I, I which is pivoted to the end of the plate 6, asshown. The object of the adjustable slide or plate 6 is to enable sameto be brought just the proper distance from the spaced circumferentialseries of saw-teeth B on the saw cylinder 8 journalled upon shaft 8,which is carried in bearings 8 at either end of the frame. By carefuladjustment of the plate 6 it is possible to permit fine trash and dirtto fall downwardly and at the same time impinge the cotton so that theteeth of the saws 8 can get a good hold therein.

The cotton is carried by the saws 8 in an upward direction (the sawcylinder 8 rotating in the direction of thearrow a, Figure 3), thecircumferential series of V-shaped ribs Ill on the periphery of the rollI0 which rotates in a clockwise direction, as per arrow 0, throwing theburrs or hulls and trash together with such cotton as remains intermixedtherewith backwardly onto the conveyor roll 9 having its spikes 9arranged in opposite spirals so as to conduct the dirt and trash towardeach end of the machine, at the same time, of course, throwing theburrs, hulls and trash against the saws repeatedly so as to assure theremoval of the major portion of the lint therefrom before'the same dropsthrough the openings 9 at the ends of the trough 9 which is disposedbeneath the roll 9. It is to be observed that the trough 9 is arrangedso as to direct the hulls substantially toward the points of the teethof the saws 8, so as to assure the engagement by the teeth of such lintas may remain in the bolls or hulls.

The trough 9 is secured as shown to the longitudinal board or framemember X located just above the inlet opening 2.

' The hulls or bolls, discharged through the openings 9 at the ends ofthe trough 9, fall upon the roll H on shaft I l whose peripherial pinsI'l are arranged in opposed spirals so as to conduct the bolls and trashtoward the center of the machine, while at the same time throwing themrepeatedly ag'ainstthe saws 8 to make certain of the removal of everyiota of lint from the bolls before they are discharged through thecentral opening in the subjacent trough I8 and into the spout IQ fordischarge into the dirt chamber 20 above the screw conveyor U.

The seed cotton engaged by the saws I3 will be carried past thelongitudinally V'-ribbed periphery II] of the roll ID to-be brushed offby the brushes I I of the brush roll I I of shaft I l which rotates inthe direction of the arrow d, as shown in Figure 3. The seed cotton thusremoved from the saw cylinder or roll 8 is directed upon'the picker rollI2, having the picker teeth 12 and As shown, there is a' being rigid onshaft I2 series of picker rolls or cleaner rolls, the roll I2 being thefirst and rolls I3, I4 the succeeding picker rolls which have,respectively, picker teeth I3 I I and are carried by shafts I3 I4respectively. Suitably mounted beneath the picker roll I2 is the screenI2 carried by the rear frame member H and an intermediate longitudinalbar I5, which also supports the rear edge of the screen member I3beneath the roller I3. This screens forward edge is supported bylongitudinal bar IE. I4 designates the screen beneath the roller I l andthis is carried by the bar I6 and the front longitudinal frame member M,as clearly shown in Figure 3.

The formation of the longitudinal V-shaped ribs I0 of roll Hi is veryimportant, since the sides" time to effectually throw backthe h'ull's orbolls.

when the same reaches the spout '19. It is pref erable" also that thespikes i2 of the roll 12 be" similarly arranged "at the indicated at laV v l H As is apparent, there will-necessarily have to be some clearancebetween the spout l9 and the edges of the hole in the trough M throughwhich the spout extends. Consequently, the teeth, I 4 of-the roll itwithin the spout are preferably spirally arranged so as to throw thetrash and dirt toward the center of the spout so that none will mix withthe seed-cotton passing by the spout on either side thereof.

Needless to say, all of the rolls herein referred to are keyed upontheir shafts, the endsof which" extend through the ends" of the frameand'are journalled in suitable bearings carried by corner posts D andintermediate vertical posts F. The pulleys, 8 9, I0 ll, I2, 13, M areavailed of to drive the respective shafts of the elements designated bycorresponding numerals minus the letter suiilx.-

' The cleaning roll l4 discharges the cotton in a thin bat into thetroughZ and upon the belt conveyor 2! working therein, which carries thecotton to the gins, or more accurately to the v l and thrown back uponthe hull conveyor roll feeders which in turn discharge into the gins.

A buffer 22 disposed forwardly of and above the lower hull conveyorIlserves to intercept the hulls and trash to prevent the same from beingthrown or carried upwardly along withsuch cot-V ton as may be strippedfrom the hulls at this point. The buffer 22 is carried by brackets'insecured to'the frontwall portion L by. means of bolts or the like 24.Obviously, the bracket 23 can be adjusted toward or from, the saws 8% bythe interposition or removal of packing '23 -.be;-

tween the inner end of the bracketiand the inner face of the carryingmember L. i

The trough l8 beneath the lower hull conveyor roller H, is supported bythe frame mermber L at the front of the machine and its rear edge bymeans of a. bracket member 25, having an extension 25 extending in thedirection of the saws to prevent seed cotton from falling intothetrough, such bracket having a portion extending toward the cleaner rollii to make sure of the deflectionof the cotton upon the upper portion ofthe roll. !2, sothat the same will be carriedv around the roll in aclockwise direction to form or produce a substantially flat and thin batof cotton,

center of the rollsfas screen 12 the inner edge of such plate projectingin the direction of the brush roll ll to provelnt co'tton from beingcarried past the cleaning r0112. 7

It is also to be observed that a channeled shaped bar or member 30,extending the full length of the machine is secured by brackets '31 tothe inner faces of the ei id Walls of the casing adjacent the frontthereof and at the top by means of bolts 32- extending through elongatedslots .33. This construction enables the projecting edge 38 of said barto be brought-very close to the V- shaped ribs w of the stripper roll H!so as to prevent the bolls and trash from being carried around by rollit. It will be understood that'the projecting portion 3!! of bracket30-is relatively flexible and tends to deflect" the hulls and trash in acounter clockwise direction and upon the upper conveyor roll.

It isvery important to observe that the inlet 2 of the hull separatorandcle'aner is located below the upper'hull conveyor roll 9 and betweenthe same and the lower hull conveyor roll ii. The result is that loosedirt and trash coming in through the inlet Z'is enabledto drop off theend of the adjustable slide plate '6.- and into the trough I8 beneaththe lower hull conveyor roll I 1.. Thus, initially, there is aconsiderable separation of dirt and foreign matter from the cotton.Besides this,the hulls which are stripped from'the saws by the stripperroll It, are thrown back upon the conveyor 9 above trough 9 so as to besegregated to "all intents and purposes from the incoming cotton forpresentatiohto the saw roll 8 while being conveyed toward each end ofthe trough 9. Of course, the hulls will be thrown up on the top of thecotton passing upwardly on the saws, but being upon the top of the samewill be readily stripped or thrown on? 9. It will be obvious thatcontinual repetition of this action will remove the lint from the; hulls-'so that there will be 'very little left when they finally drop throughthe openings 9 at the outer ends of the trough 9 will be removed'by thesaws during-the conveyance of the hulls toward the opening of the troughl8, which discharges the. material into spout 19.

Attention is further invited to the extreme simplicity and compactnessof the construction, made possible by the arrangement of the clean ingrolls l2, l3, l4, beneath the hulling apparatus. I J

The'ca'sing Y is, in effect, an auxiliary casing or chute through whichthe cotton coming into.

the machine may be directed immediately to the conveyor 2i when plate orvalve 3 is closed against inlet opening .2. The auxiliary casing orportion Y also serves as the outlet:for the seed-cotton from the finalcleaner roll It. In-

asmuc'h, as'the inlet and outlet? from the hull separator and cleanerapparatus is at the same side of the machine and communicates withcasing Y, it provides an outlet for the material whether passed throughthe hull separator or conveyed direct from the feeder I to the dis-Obviously, the shafts of the various rotatable elements may be adjustedby moving their bearings in the end walls of the casing so as to suitrequirements and produce the best results. Adjustment of shafts is acommon expedient and therefore no necessity for illustrating same hereis seen.

What lint isleft in the hulls As illustrated in the detail view, Figure7, the

intermediate portions of the rolls l2, l3 have spikes H l3 arranged inopposed spiral series for conducting the seed-cotton laterally to Havingthus described my invention, what I,

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a hullseparator and cleaner for cotton' comprisinga casing having an inlet, a drivensaw cylinder against which,

said inlet discharges, means for stripping the hulls from the sawcylinder, a picker roll above said inlet and receiving the hulls fromsaid stripping means, said picker rollhaving means for conveying thehulls toward each end of. the

casing in contact with the saw cylinder and maintaining the separatedhulls above the incoming cotton, a second picker roll in said casingbelow said inlet and receiving the hulls from said upper picker roll,said lower picker roll having means forconveying the hulls in contactwith the saws toward the center of the cas-,

ing, a trough beneath said second picker roll and having a dischargeopening intermediate its ends,

a discharge spout leading from said trough opening, and cottoncleaningmeans in said casing to which the seed-cotton is delivered fromsaid saw cylinder.

2. The combination of a hull separator and cleaner for cotton comprisinga casing having an inlet, a driven saw cylinder against which said inletdischarges, means for stripping the hulls from the saw cylinder, apicker roll above said inlet and receiving the hulls'from said strippingmeans, said picker roll having means for conveying the hulls toward eachend of the casing in contact with the saw cylinder, a second picker rollin said casing below said inlet and receiving the hulls from said upperpicker roll,

said lower picker roll having means for oonveying the hulls in contactwith the saws toward the center of the casing, a trough beneath saidsecond picker roll and having a discharge opening intermediate its ends,a discharge spout leading from said trough opening, cotton cleaningmeans in. said casing to which the seed-cottonis delivered from said sawcylinder, and said cotton cleaning means having means for dischargingthe cleaned cotton at either side of said spout.

3. The combination of a hull separator and cleaner for cotton comprisinga casing having an inlet, a driven saw cylinder against which said inletdischarges, means for stripping the hulls from the saw cylinder, apicker roll above said inlet and receiving the hulls from said strippingmeans, said picker roll having means for conveying the hulls toward eachend of the casing in contact with the saw cylinder and above and insubstantial separation from the incoming cotton, a second picker'roll insaid casing below said inlet and receiving the hulls from said upperpicker roll, said lower picker roll having means for conveying the hullsin contact with the saws toward the center of the casing, a troughbeneath said second picker roll and having a discharge openingintermediate its ends, a discharge spout leadingcfrom said troughopening, cotton cleaning means in said casing extending beneath said sawcylinder and to which the seedcotton is delivered from said sawcylinder.

4. The combination of a hull separator and cleaner for cotton comprisinga casing having an inlet, a driven saw cylinder against which said inletdischarges, means for stripping the hulls from the saw cylinder, apicker roll above said inlet and receiving the hulls from said strippingmeans, said picker roll having means for conveying the hulls toward eachend of the casing in contact with the saw cylinder aboveand insubstantial separation from the incoming cotton, a second picker roll insaid casing below saidinlet and receiving the hulls from said upperpicker roll, said lower picker roll having means for conveying the hullsin contact with the saws toward the center of the casing, a troughbeneath said second picker roll and having a discharge openingintermediate its ends, a discharge spout leading from said troughopening, cotton cleaning means in said casing extending beneath said sawcylinder andv to which the seed-cotton is delivered from said sawcylinder, said casing having a seed cotton outlet beneath said inlet andextending to either side of said spout, and said cleaningmeans havingdischarge means for diverting the adjacent said inlet, seed cottoncleaning means 7 including driven cleaner rolls disposed beneath saidhull separating means, a hull discharge spout extending across the pathof the outgoing seed cotton, means on certain of said cleaning rolls fordiverting theoutgoing seed cotton past said spout.

6. In a hull separating and cleaning machine for cotton, having a cottoninlet and separate hull and seed cotton outlets, hull separating meansadjacent said inlet, seed cottonv cleaning means including driven rollsdisposed beneath said hull separating means, a hull discharge spoutextending across the path of the outgoing seed'cotton, means on certainof said cleaning rolls for diverting the outgoing seed cotton past saidspout, one of said cleaning rolls extending transversely through saidspout, and means on such roll for conveying the hulls centrally of saidspout.

7 In a hull separator and cleaner for cotton, hull and seed cottonseparating means, a hull discharge spout, and cleaning means including adriven roll extending transversely through the spout and said rollhaving means for conveying the seed cotton past the sides of said spout.

8. In a hull separator and cleaner for cotton, hull and seed cottonseparating means, a hull discharge spout, cleaning means including adriven roll extending transversely through the spout and said rollhaving means for conveying the seed cotton past the sides of said spout,and conveyor means on said roll within said spout for actuating thehulls away from the spout sides.

THADDEUS S. GRIMES.

